The Faber Music Piano Anthology

I’m extremely honoured to have been invited to compile a new anthology for leading UK music publisher, Faber Music. This hefty volume is designed to be a gift book for anyone who enjoys playing (or who fancies exploring) a large and varied collection of piano works. A luxury hardback edition featuring high-quality premium paper, page finder ribbon and ‘The Concerto’ linocut cover image by Cyril Edward Power, this book would make a great Christmas gift for that ‘difficult to buy for’ amateur pianist relative! On a lighter note, it would also morph into a wonderful coffee table book.

Piano teachers and students requiring extra or alternative repertoire (post exams!), or sight-reading material, will enjoy the broad range on offer here, and many teachers have already remarked that they intend to use the book as part of the now famous 40 Piece Challenge devised by Australian composer and writer Elissa Milne.

The Faber Music Piano Anthology provides a musical journey through the history of piano music (almost!), starting with the late-Renaissance era, finishing in the mid to late Twentieth Century. It takes pianists from elementary (around Grade 2 ABRSM level) to advanced (Grade 8), and there are 78 original pieces in total, which I selected from Faber’s large catalogue of publications (containing around 400 works).

Well-known and favourite pieces rub shoulders with less familiar works, providing an interesting and eclectic mix. Here’s the content list (although the pieces don’t appear in this order in the book):

Air (Water Music) (Handel)

Alla Siciliana (Guilmant)

Allegro (from Sonata in C major K545 – 1st movement) (Mozart)

Andante (from Sonata in G K283) (Mozart)

Arabesque (Op.100 No.2)(Burgmüller)

Bagatelle (Diabelli)

Berceuse (Op.13 No.7) (Ilyinsky)

Chanson Triste (Tchaikovsky)

Come With Us! (from On An Overgrown Path)(Janáĉek)

Consolation (Op.30 No.3)(Mendelssohn)

Consolations (S172 No.1, Andante)(Liszt)

Danse Lente (Franck)

The Fall of the Leafe (Peerson)

Fantasia in D minor (K397) (Mozart)

Fröhlicher Landmann (The Merry Peasant)(Schumann)

Für Elise (Bagatelle in A minor, Wo059) (Beethoven)

Gnossienne No. 1(Satie)

Gymnopédie No.1 (Satie)

Gypsy Dance (Haydn)

Honey Humoresque (Dett)

Interlude (Franck)

Invocation à Schumann (Déodat de Séverac)

La Fille aux cheveux de lin (The Girl with the Flaxen Hair)(Debussy)

La Vision (Op.63 No.1) (Alkan)

L’Avalanche (Heller)

Le Petit Negre (Debussy)

Lento (Op.16 No.4 from 5 Preludes) (Scriabin)

Les pifferari (Gounod)

L’harmonie des Anges (Op.100 No.21) (Burgmüller)

Little Prelude in C (BWV 939) (Bach)

Malagueña de España (Albéniz)

Mazurka in C (Glinka)

Mélodie (Op.10 No.5 (Massenet)

Melody in F (Rubenstein)

Minuet in G (Bach)

Minuet in C (Scarlatti)

‘Moonlight’ Sonata (No.14 in C sharp minor) (Beethoven)

Nocturne (from Sonata Romantica) (Britten)

Old French Song (Tchaikovsky)

Passepied (Delibes)

‘Pathétique’ Sonata (Op.13 No.8 – 2nd movement) (Beethoven)

Piano Sonatina in G (Beethoven)

Prayer (Op.43 No.2) (Glière)

Prelude in C major (Bach)

Prelude from Suite No.5 in C (Z666) (Purcell)

Prelude in A major (Op.28 No.7) (Chopin)

Prelude in B minor (Op.28 No.6) (Chopin)

Prelude in B (Op.2 No.2) (Scriabin)

Prelude in E minor (Op.28 No.4) (Chopin)

Prelude (Op.36 No.3) (Lyadov)

Rêverie (Borodin)

Romance in G (Op.52 No.4) (Hummel)

Romance sans Paroles (Op.17 No.3) (Fauré)

Rondo alla Turca (from Sonata No.11 K331) (Mozart)

Sarabande (from Suite in D minor) (Handel)

Scherzo in B flat (D.593) (Schubert)

Scherzo No. 2 (from Aquarelles Op.19) (Gade)

Snuffbox Waltz (Dargomyzhsky)

Soldatenmarsch (Soldier’s March) (Schumann)

Solfeggietto (C.P.E. Bach)

Sonatina No.3 (Clementi)

Song (Reinecke)

Study in A flat (Heller)

Study in B minor (Op.139 No.98) (Czerny)

Study in C (Op.17 No.6) (Le Couppey)

Study in C (Op.63 No.1) (Köhler)

Study in F (Op.65 No.25) (Loeschhorn)

Sweet Dreams (Tchaikovsky)

To A Wild Rose (MacDowell)

To Alexis (Hummel)

Toccatina in C major (Op.8 No.1) (Maykapar)

The Top (from Humorous Bagatelles Op.11) (Nielsen)

Träumerei (from Kinderszenen Op.15) (Schumann)

Two-part invention No.8 in F major (Bach)

Une Larme (A Tear) (Mussorgsky)

Valse (Waltz) in A minor (B.150) (Chopin)

Waltz in A flat major (Op.39 No.15) (Brahms)

Waltz in A minor (from Lyric Pieces Op.12 No.2) (Grieg)

‘Melanie Spanswick brings together a delicious collection of short pieces carefully chosen according to progressive level, variety and concision, but happily non-dependent on exam syllabuses. For those who need new choices for practising and sometimes feel a bit daunted by the quantity of options, and unsure of their difficulty, it helps to solve the problem in one easy package.’

Jessica Duchen, Jessica Duchen’s Classical Music Blog (recommended as one of the Top 12 Books for Music Lovers 2016)

‘Overall, this is definitely a collection to cherish! The Faber Music Piano Anthology contains a fabulous variety of great music, beautifully presented. It not only represents a rather wonderful Christmas gift, but will surely stand the test of time to become a treasured source of pleasure and piano-playing enrichment. A truely outstanding publication!’

Andrew Eales, Pianodao Blog

Released just In October 2016, you can order your copy here, as well as on Amazon worldwide.

For much more information about how to practice piano repertoire, take a look at my piano course, Play it again: PIANO (published by Schott Music). Covering a huge array of styles and genres, the course features a large collection of progressive, graded piano repertoire from approximately Grade 1 to advanced diploma level, with copious practice tips for every piece. A convenient and beneficial course for students of any age, with or without a teacher, and it can also be used alongside piano examination syllabuses too.

You can find out more about my other piano publications and compositions here.

I am hoping to acquire a new studio next year having travelled for two years – this would be absolutely perfect to display in the waiting room (and use, of course!) where it would inspire my students. The anthology appears to be beautifully laid out, and the fact that it features pieces that are accessible to such a wide range of age and experience levels is a real bonus.

Hi Melanie, I just checked it out on Amazon. This is an amazing collection of works. What a great source for alternate repertoire and to explore music through the ages. They would be a great source for sight reading material too. I sure am interested in this anthology and would be very proud to have it in my music library.

What a delicious and exciting collection of pieces! I would absolutely LOVE to receive a copy of your new Faber Music Piano Anthology! Though I have to admit I’m not sure whether I would should give it as a gift for my sister, use it in my teaching or just keep it for my own enjoyment?! Perhaps I’m going to need three copies!

What a great resource to have! Im in the second year of developing a proper program for an elementary and junior fine arts school. This volume would surely add to the small library we are building. Thanks so much for compiling this work.

What a beautiful book! It reminds me of “Music For The Home” a red hardback volume with gold lettering – it was found in every home that had a piano, and was a treasured possession. I learned the Moonlight Sonata and so many timeless works from it as a child. It would be brilliant if your new Anthology rekindled this, inspiring pianists young and old with the joy of beautiful music in a special edition, now with 21st century design. Of course, I would treasure my own copy too!

I’ve loved using all of the Faber music beginning with their first series of Adventure books and solo piano sheet music. This would be a lovely addition to my personal library and studio. Thank you for the opportunity.

Melanie Spanswick hosts the Classical Piano and Music Education Blog. She writes about practising the piano, piano music and all aspects of music education.

In demand as a writer, teacher and composer, Melanie frequently directs piano courses and workshops worldwide, and she also adjudicates and judges piano competitions and festivals. She has written, amongst many other publications, the three-book piano course Play it again: PIANO, published by Schott, which has become an international best-selling series.